Brannigan's Law

This is the last thing you want to see coming up your lane on your day off.....friggin' Vikings again!

1. What movie and its sequel both won academy awards for best picture?

The Godfather & The Godfather, Part II

2. In what percentage of his 200 film rolls did legend John Wayne's
character die?
A) Less than 5%
B) Between 6-10%
C) Between 10-30%
D) 40% or more

A. In only 8 roles did his character die.

3. What substance was used as fuel for the time traveling car in Back
To The Future Part II?

Garbage

4. What was Pluto's name when he made his debut in 1930 in a Mickey Mouse Film?

Rover, in the film Chain Gang. He had a small part as Minnie Mouse's dog.

5. What Hollywood star turned down the Jack Nicholson role in The
Witches of Eastwick, the Dustin Hoffman role in Rain Man, and the
title role in Batman? (According to my sources...)

Bill Murray

6. What was movie hero Indiana Jones first name?

Henry. That's it, just Henry.

7. What does actor Keanu Reeve's first name mean in Hawaiian?

"Cool breeze over the mountains"

8. What 1977 hit movie featured a frantic search for Devil's Tower,
Wyoming, America's first national monument?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

9. What was the name of Luke Skywalkers home planet in the 1977 film Star Wars?

Tatooine

10. In the 1989 cult fairy tale The Princess Bride, for what did the
initials R.O.U.S. stand?

Rodents of Unusual Size

Good job to all who participated! I'm pretty stingy on the answers, but you all did really well. Bonus point to Marko for not using Google!

I added a 'live' message center...It might be a little too junior high for me though. The website looped me in with the promise that all of my friends would enjoy it, leaving posts to one another, but I'm not yet sold on the idea. I'll try it out for a decade and see how it goes.

28 MINUTES LATER -

Removed stupid 'chat' box. I had a great name for it, 'The Whaling Wall' which evoked great and messy images in my mind. Stupid thing had a permalink to Lavalife, and that's not my style, m'kay?

I found this in an old box from Jr. High. Weird eh? I used to be a library monitor....must have filled it out there.

I love the thought in Michael W. Smith's song where he sings about 'entertaining angels unaware..' Now he is not singing about playing Yahtzee with clueless angels, but instead addressing the notion that there may be times where we, unbeknownst to ourselves have appointed encounters with angels without realizing it.

Now there have been several times in my life, where there has been an occurrence or event that my heart knows was brought on by the Almighty in a out-of-the-natural way. There is also the equivalent of a small nation of people who 'know me' who would say that it's bunk for me to say that because they know what I am 'really' like: "He's not a good enough guy for God to take interest in."

One of these out-of-the-natural occasions was when I was at 'Bible School' in upstate New York. It was at a Snow Camp where they flooded our campus with hundreds of snotty nosed children running around in snow suits for fun, games, and aggressive indoctrinization.
So, as a student, we had to play counsellor, games masters, and anything else the school could get us to do for free labour, and this one particular week I was a counsellor.

So we had a cabin full of kids who just wanted to play, with the exception of two South American boys who were well behaved, and stuck to me like glue. For their age (9-11) I remember them to be greatly mature, and pensive. This is no doubt the editorial effect that years have on memories, but nonetheless; they were cool kids.
It was at an emotionally charged rally; on the last night; that this impressive kid who knew some Bible stories, and was simply a well behaved and honest child 'got saved'. I remember the set up, how this moment that was about to transpire left my heart's beliefs exposed and undeniably bare.

I said to him something like "

But Kid (forget his real name), you told me you were already 'saved'?!??!"

He looked right into my eyes, and told me pointing each time

.."I knew Him up here (head), but I didn't know Him down here (heart)."

In the way that hit me, the way the Lord spoke to me in that instant, I remember wanting to ask him for the rest of the weekend if he was really an angel, and not just some kid from South America with a really, really quiet brother. There is no way that this can translate through this media to give the realization of how cool, and extraordinary that was. It sounds simple enough to explain, "kid said something that you took to heart Mike".
Maybe it is that simple, and I'm just mining for extra meaning from it.

So when it comes to unaware angels, I'm not sure if this kid was one or not. I remember he kind of disappeared the morning he went home, but the other counsellor told me his mom had picked them up. Coincidence.............maybe. ;)
In my opinion, both the detractors and my experience are right. I'm a cad, but that can't disqualify a person from God's grace coming in any form. Whether it be an angel coming to teach you something special, of a man dying on a cross in front of hating people. What would grace be then, if not given to the undeserving?


P.S. This memory was brought on by random blogging where I found a blog by a student at my old school; where this year where Snow Camps have just started.

This morning not even sickness could keep me from attending my first guys breakfast of the year. Matt Anderson, Brian, Troy, Nick, Malcolm, and I all met at Sams Restaurant for a great time of catching up, breakfast and hockey highlights (thanks to their nice TV).
One person unable to attend was Marko Peric, who was missed. He and Sean were probably catching up on sleep after a week of illness. You can find pictures of Sean and Marko by clicking here.
Guys, breakfast this morning was very refreshing. It was a wonderful time, and proved yet again the importance of friendship, and how great its value is. I enjoyed the fellowship as well as the eggs.

Here is a picture of our little lap dog Mikey. We adopted him over a year ago, and he's quite the guy. He had a lot of problems, but we're loving them out of him. He's affectionate to the max, and is becoming more and more comfortable each day.
Poor guy had been through three homes before ours in a year and a half, so we're happy to be giving him a good home. He's seen here getting a rare chance to sit on the couch, while my beautiful wife Nancy gives him a hug. She gives the best hugs! Aren't they cute? Someday I'll post the video of our first pet Pekoe (once I figure out how to do that...). That kind of reads like he's dead. He's not dead, he's just a cat.

Welcome to one of the most cherished days of the week! Friday; the day of promise and hope. Last weekend as I sat on my butt doing nothing on Saturday, I came to the conclusion that the best part of the weekend is Friday afternoon while you're still at work. You are there in the same workplace shackles you wore on Monday and Wednesday, but as tight as they may be , they can't squeeze the excitement out of you. Why? It's because they're coming off in a couple of hours, and you know it.
There's nothing the denizens of drudgery can do about it either...you're off for the weekend.

Yet as exciting as this is, knowing that you get to be free from work at the end of the day, it pales in comparison with the excitement that we feel about the possibilities that the weekend may hold.
We almost hit a state of childlike giddiness over the endless potential and fun that those two days are sure to hold! Oh, for joy! The weekend is here! THE WEEKEND IS HERE!

Alas, just like Christmas eve when you're seven, and the night before your sixteenth birthday all of these notions we hold about what the next day will have in store for us......are mostly delusions brought on by that remainder of fantastic imagination that still lives in us as adults. No, we didn't get the pony Christmas morning, and there are still only as many cars in the driveway as there were when you were 15 years and 364 days old.
The weekend is a tease created in our own minds which is desperate for a spark, a change, or even some measure of excitement.

It is in this state that many of us arrive at Saturday morning, only to see that upon a quick glance out the window, that the carnival is not in town, NASA's not asking you to be an astronaut, and the only way that you're going on a trip is if you sample those mushrooms you found while mowing the lawn, last weekend.
In our groggy haze we deal with our disappointment in a more efficient way than the child who simply throws a tantrum. We kill it with caffeine, and the day begins. Before we know it, it's 10:30 and the shimmering wonder that was the weekend only 24 hours ago has become a list of chores. Laundry, dishes, cleaning the box of poop your cat has left you in your own home, and finally taking down the damn Christmas decorations from outside the house.

It's only then with the fake pine boughs firmly in your grasp and the strands of lights are tripping your feet up, that you realize that you've been fooled again. We are like the lonely person who keeps getting used in relationships, the Weekend is the biggest user of us all. It promises us the world on Friday to get us to love it, and then leaves us all alone when we need it the most.

Fool me once, shame on you weekend.... fool me twice... aww dang it!

So the pic from yesterday is takes from last years Marvel Comics event 'House of M', where the Scarlet Witch erased the 'mutant gene' from millions of those ever loving mutants we are so familiar with from the X-Men movie franchise.
It was an interesting line-wide crossover that had an entirely new reality formed by the Scarlet Witch (who was having a breakdown...hey, even comic book people have bad days). You can find it at Indigo, or Chapters and read it for free if you are intensely bored some day.

Now, on to today's happenings. I recommend that you find these songs and listen to them:

Porcelain by Moby
Sooner or Later by Breaking Benjamin
Going the Distance by Cake
I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker by Sandi Thom

Especially Sandi Thom. Awesome, awesome song! Here's a great picture of two of my fantasy studs, Josh Howard and Dwayne Wade. The Red Buzzing Pigeons are still on top!

No deep thoughts today...I'm supposed to be working, but I'm sneaking a break!

How're y'all doin' today folks? Take a look at this pic, it's pretty interesting, and fantastic art. I'll talk a little about it tomorrow. Couldn't rightfully call this 'wordless' now could I?

It's Trivial Tuesday, and the plan is to issue a number of questions each Tuesday and see who can get the most answers right throughout the week...think you can do it? Well sucka, these mothers can be tough!

To 'answer' email me at mikecthomas'at'gmail.com and put 'Answers for Trivia' so I can keep things straight. If you get an answer right, and you're the first to do so, you will get a point and the blog will post a little scoreboard with the leaders. Good luck, and here are this weeks questions...oh right, I forgot. Tell your friends about this. It will be fun to see who's brain works gooder.

1. What was the first Japanese car imported to the United States?

2. How did poker's Dead Man's Hand - a pair of aces and a pair of eights - get its name?

3. What was the Fonz's full name from the show 'Happy Days'?

4. In what city is the building whose exterior was used for Jerry's apartment building on the show Seinfeld?

5. What percentage of the average human brain is water?

6. How many toes does a rhinoceros have on each foot?

7. What silver hood ornament does Queen Elizabeth II have installed on any car she is travelling in?

8. Why did a Bible published in London in 1632 become known as the 'Wicked Bible'?

9. In the Bible, which of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse rides a red horse?

10. The rock group 'Electric Mayhem' made an appearance in what 1979 film?

Good luck folks! You have until midnight January 30th to get your answers in! Email them to mikecthomas'at'gmail.com.


ANSWERS:

Answers:

1. Datsun 1958. 83 sold in US that year.
2. Wild Bill Hickok had those cards when he was gunned down.
3. Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli
4. Los Angeles
5. 80%
6. Three toes in one hoof
7. Queenie likes a sculpture of St.George slaying a dragon. (according
to my sources)
8. "not" was missing from the 7th commandment. Look it up. Oooo! Naughty!
9. War
10. The Muppet Movie

It seems that my RSS feeds are not 'live' as you might notice. The NBA scores are from two days ago. Might be a pickle figuring out how to get those to update live...

A FEW MINUTES LATER...

It seems that I'll go with the Yahoo NBA News Update. I think this one updates correctly, unlike the Official NBA Website RSS feeds. How weird is that? That the official NBA website RSS feed is outperformed by Yahoo?

Hey folks, take a look at these pictures, and tell me that you're not happy with how high the confederation bridge is... those waves are huge! My wife Nancy tells me that she remembers driving across the causeway (in Canso, Nova Scotia) in these conditions. A truck guides traffic across when the waves come over the road like that, just so you don't.....you know.....drive into the water. The blog is officially up and running, and thanks for visiting. If you're in my YAHOO FANTASY BASKETBALL LEAGUE (go Pigeons go!) then you can keep updated of today's goings on in the NBA with the links on the right. Also, if you're into comics at all, you'll find the Marvel Comics RSS feeds interesting under the NBA stuff. Check out some of my links down below if you're searching for some fun on the web.

Something I wanted to do from the start was to make this blog an interesting place for people to visit, because of the posibilities that it would present them for exploration. Hopefully I can keep up to date points of interest on the blog, with new 'content/news' daily to make it possible for return visitors to always see something new. I'll also be posting interesting things of my own design to hopefully spark something of interest in peoples brains.

The hope is to make this tiny spot of the web an area where you and I engage in discusison on issues, relevant, and irrelevant before you use it as a jump off for you to spend some time on the net.

I know several people who use their site as a meaningful place of encouragement, or contact. Time will tell what I use this for (if at all), as I tend to be streaky in my undertakings.

Information on games, entertainment, and possibly some hack theology based upon thousands of hours of Biblical study.